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Bourbon and Beyond Festival


MichaelT

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We went to the Bourbon and Beyond Festival in Louisville, KY over the weekend.

 

http://bourbonandbeyond.com/

 

There were a lot more acts that we didn't see but the ones we saw were these:

 

Saturday:

 

Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eddie Vedder, Steve Miller Band.

 

Sunday:

 

Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Nicks.

 

Buddy Guy was awesome, as always. He puts on a great show. Kenny Wayne was good. I wasn't real thrilled with Eddie Vedder since it was just him on acoustic and occasionally electric guitar. I would have liked to see him with a band. Steve Miller Band was pretty good

 

Paul Rodgers is one of my favorite singers. That guy just can't not be cool. You could tell he really enjoyed being there on stage and was having fun. Joe Bonamassa was good but I don't quite get why he's classified as blues. He was a little blues with a lot of rock, it seems. Stevie Nicks was fantastic as always. She had a bit of a cold or allergies but was still singing away.

 

I got a few more pictures but this one's my favorite of the weekend:

 

22007353_1423756154398164_3421631529294644959_n.jpg?oh=9613f879fb8ab52ac3d9e9dde665ad31&oe=5A84C380

 

It was hard to focus to get pictures because of the sun and the pictures at night didn't turn out very well at all. We didn't get up too close because it was VERY crowded. It was definitely a nice way to spend my birthday (yesterday).

 

It's going to be an annual event in September.

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Buddy is always a killer...So they are going to make it an annual event, will it be this week end in the future?

 

I'm not sure. I'm guessing it will be some time in September. September is Bourbon Month here in Kentucky. We have the Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY and then Bourbon and Beyond is in Louisville, KY.

 

I don't think they've announced dates and performers for next year but I think the site will remain active. Our company was a sponsor this year and they gave us all tickets to go for free. I think regular ticket price is around 80-90 dollars each day or you can get a deal for both days and VIP passes are available. Put the site on your "need to check next June or July" list. I think they announced it in June. Buddy put on a great show. He was fun to watch and his stories were awesome. It was one of those, "Well, back in my day..." kind of experiences. His was my favorite performance, with Paul Rodgers and Stevie Nicks in at a close second and third.

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Glad you enjoyed it. I saw a commercial on TV for it a month ago or so and thought it really sounded fun, but then forgot all about it.

 

Having played in Chicago for about 30 years I sort of burned out on the blues, but Buddy is the genuine article. We need to chip in and buy him a new shirt though, that polka dot thing has been worn for so many shows it must stand up by itself when he takes it off. It does look cool though when he plays a polka dot strat and he is camouflaged.

 

Trust me he didn't imitate SRV or Clapton or anyone else. They all imitate HIM. [thumbup]

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When I saw him he did a whole thing were he said okay now I'm gonna do SRV and he played like him for a 30 seconds, and then he said I'm gonna play like Clapton and he did for about 30 seconds. I am not implying he was copying their style.

 

I don't doubt that he said that during the show, but you miss my point. Buddy played with Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson etc. etc. He was playing SRV before SRV was born and Clapton names Guy as one of his greatest influences. The reason he can so easily imitate them is that they are his licks first and Vaughan and Clapton just tried to play like him.

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I have seen him 9 times now and would go back in a heartbeat...Yeah FZ I love it when he does the imitations of those guys..My favorite time I saw him was in St Pete, Florida when he played with Double Trouble (Jimmy Vaughns band). Another great story he told when he was having Quinn Sullivan open for him and he said that he asked eric if he could play at the "Crossroads" festival and Eric said "wow I don't know Buddy we are pretty full and I have never heard of him and he is olnly 12 years old". Buddy said F$ck you Eric I let him play with me..Buddy said "not many people can tell Eric to F$ck off but I am old enough I can". I dont know if it is true or not but it was funny.

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He was entertaining and funny. He did some old blues, a little John Lee Hooker (Boom boom) played a little of Sunshine of your Love when talking about Eric Clapton, Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (complete with wah pedal) and a few other classic blues. He told stories about how no one heard the blues until some English guys came along and started playing blues. He was definitely the most entertaining performer with his stories and humor. He told a story about a music teacher he went to and said he wanted to learn guitar. The teacher told him to get a book called Guitar 1 or something. Well, he didn't. His teachers were 45 and 78 records. He said years later, when the teacher was on his death bed, he went to see the teacher. The teacher told him, "Buddy, I'm glad you didn't use the book." I hadn't seen him live before, other than on Axxess and he was awesome. I had to buy a Buddy Guy t-shirt, of course. And, yeah, that gold Strat was awesome. His backing band was great, even the other guitarist. I'd LOVE to have that gig, playing with Buddy. He's a hoot and a half. If you haven't seen him live, do yourself a favor and go see him.

 

Paul Rodgers was amazing as always. Still has that soulful voice and a great entertainer. He's been one of my favorite singers since I first heard him when I was growing up. I definitely liked Stevie's older stuff over the 80's and 90's pop stuff. She didn't do as many twirls as she used to but she also wasn't feeling real well.

 

The metal bands are here this coming weekend - https://louderthanlifefestival.com/. I'd love to go see Ozzy, Rob Zombie, Lacuna Coil, Five Finger Death Punch (my youngest son's favorite band) but we're going to Myrtle Beach this weekend and staying for a week. And, I really want to go see The Eagles when they come around on October 24th but I'm not going to make it due to an IT Summit here at work that week. Maybe I could convince my boss that our evening activity on the 24th should be to go see The Eagles and see if work will flip the bill. :)

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I don't doubt that he said that during the show, but you miss my point. Buddy played with Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson etc. etc. He was playing SRV before SRV was born and Clapton names Guy as one of his greatest influences. The reason he can so easily imitate them is that they are his licks first and Vaughan and Clapton just tried to play like him.

 

Yeah, I think I remember Eric Clapton saying that Buddy Guy is "the greatest guitarist ever." He sure could make that guitar sing and sometimes even scream. Definitely a legend.

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